No aerial spraying yet for Easton, Raynham, Taunton, West Bridgewater

State health officials said Friday that while aerial spraying is “on the table” as a tool to combat infected mosquitoes, current conditions don’t warrant its use right now, despite new findings that put four area communities at a high risk for Eastern equine encephalitis.

By Amy Carboneau

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

By Amy Carboneau

Posted Aug. 31, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 31, 2013 at 8:30 AM

By Amy Carboneau

Posted Aug. 31, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Aug 31, 2013 at 8:30 AM

RAYNHAM

» Social News

State health officials said Friday that while aerial spraying is “on the table” as a tool to combat infected mosquitoes, current conditions don’t warrant its use right now, despite new findings that put four area communities at a high risk for Eastern equine encephalitis.

On Thursday, the state Department of Public Health announced mammal-biting mosquitoes infected with Eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, had been found in Easton, Raynham, Taunton and West Bridgewater.

State health officials subsequently raised the risk level for each town to “high,” cautioning each town to curtail outdoor activities between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.

Local schools and towns are abiding, posting information for parents online and at public parks. But some want more from the state. Raynham officials, namely, are calling for aerial spraying.

“If it was up to me, we’d have planes in the air,” outspoken Raynham selectmen Chairman Joseph Pacheco said Friday.

Pacheco called the state’s response “ludicrous.”

“Somebody’s already died from it, what else do you need to do,” he added.

Janet Dignan, 85, of Weymouth, died last week after contracting the virus on Aug. 14. She is the state’s first victim this year.

Following the most recent findings Thursday, state health officials consulted a group of mosquito experts and discussed aerial spraying as one potential tool, state veterinarian Dr. Catherine Brown said in a phone interview Friday.

“But like most tools, it’s only useful under some circumstances,” Brown said. “You don’t use a hammer to hammer in a screw.”

Brown said the board of experts advised against aerial spraying at this time based on a variety of factors — sporadic positive findings have not suggested a pattern that the virus is all in one area, there isn’t much time left in the season for the virus to amplify, and weather conditions may not prove helpful.

Aerial spraying would not eliminate the risk, it would only reduce it for a short time, she added.

“I think a lot of us would like an answer, a solution to EEE ... and I think in a lot of people’s minds, aerial spraying is that solution.

“If it was the solution,” Brown added, “there would be no hesitation.”

“It may not be the answer,” Raynham Health Agent David Flaherty said Thursday, “but if it eliminates one incident from happening, then that’s worth it.”

Flaherty, who along with Pacheco, is calling for the state to respond with aerial spraying, said Thursday it sounded as if the department of public health was moving to approve it.

Brown said the tool is one that is still “on the table.” And if September carries hot temperatures and the virus continues to spread, there will continue to be discussions about whether aerial spraying would fit.

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Meanwhile, Brown said, Plymouth and Bristol county mosquito control projects are continuing to canvas their communities, covering the ground in the early morning hours with pesticides to knock down adult mosquitoes. That, along with personal protection such as bug spray and wearing long sleeves, is “the single most effective tool we have to reduce human risk,” Brown said.